Matt Gaetz has already been replaced as the attorney general nominee after he was doomed Thursday by his alleged sexcapades—which he denies. But he has other pathways to reclaim his perch as agent provocateur of GOP politics.
Even after resigning from Congress to dodge a damning ethics report, Gaetz could potentially still pull a U-turn and return to the House. All because he won reelection.
As the Bulwark’s Marc Caputo noted, Gaetz resigned in this session of Congress—which ends on Jan. 2. But his victory on Election Day makes him eligible to be sworn in to the 119th Congress, which convenes on Jan. 3.
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“By law,” a source told Caputo, “[Gaetz] could walk back into it” because it was “uncharted territory to have a resignation prospective for an office not yet held.”
Of course, if he does indeed decide to return to the House, the release of the House Ethics Committee’s findings detailing Gaetz’s purported proclivities for drug-fueled orgies, underage girls and illicit drug use could be waiting for him.
House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest declared the matter moot Thursday in a hallway interview with CBS News.
However, Maryland Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey, a member of the House Ethics Committee, told the Daily Beast Thursday, “I’m not not sure that this is dead.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, the day after he returned from partying and jet-setting with Donald Trump, implored Guest not to release the report. But the evidence is ultimately in the hands of five Republicans and five Democrats on the ethics panel, which means the likelihood of the findings leaking in an especially polarized political climate is high.
Still, it isn’t the end of the line for Gaetz. “Dude’s got options,” said Ivey.
Gaetz could be appointed by the Sunshine State’s governor, Ron DeSantis, to Marco Rubio’s soon-to-be vacant Senate seat. Rubio’s confirmation to be secretary of State is a much safer bet, but the Senate seat could be out of reach with Lara Trump pining for the role.
Still, MAGA can dream.
On X, #SenatorGaetz started trending seconds after the Florida rabble-rouser announced the end of his attorney general bid.
“What if that was the plan all along?” asked several commentators while others, like former Sean Hannity producer Kylie Jan Kremer, tweeted, “Senator Matt Gaetz has a nice ring to it.” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) agreed, calling Gaetz “a great person” to take over Rubio’s seat, reported CNN.
However, the National Review quoted a source close to DeSantis saying, “He won’t appoint Matt.” (Gaetz did back Trump over DeSantis in the 2024 GOP primary after all.) Which makes it easier for Gaetz to waltz right back into the House chamber in January and take the seat that he won.
Although plenty of candidates have lined up to replace Gaetz in the solidly red Florida congressional district, DeSantis has not scheduled a date for the special election.
But Gaetz could also take a White House job that doesn’t require Senate confirmation. Or he could opt to spend more time with his wife, Ginger.
“The end of an era ✨,” wrote Mrs. Gaetz on X, seemingly hinting that her husband could be out of politics for good.
Whatever it is, he can expect the explosive allegations against him to follow him—potentially in the form of a report.
Ivey wouldn’t discuss the findings of the committee’s nearly three-year long investigation of Gaetz. But he noted there is “precedence for the House Ethics Committee releasing reports” after members have left office.
The existence of a report is a matter of dispute, Ivey acknowledged. Guest claimed the report has not been completed. Rep. Susan Wild, the top-ranking Democrat on the panel, however, said it was ready to go.
Regardless, dirt gathered on Gaetz over nearly three years is still there, like a ticking time bomb.
“Should it be made public?” Ivey asked. “I thought we should release the information to the Senate, no doubt,” he said, so senators could fulfill their “constitutional obligation to do advise and content.”
